New planning controls are set to be introduced by Kingston Council to manage the spread of Houses in Multiple Occupation (HMOs) and protect the borough's housing mix.

According to the council, this follows a study to assess the scale, distribution and potential impacts of HMOs, which highlighted a range of issues including housing conditions, noise and waste management.

Currently, small HMOs of between three to six unrelated people can be created under national permitted development rights, which means they do not require planning permission.

Whereas HMOs of seven or more people do require planning permission.

In a move to tackle this, Kingston Council said that borough-wide controls for small HMOs are being proposed through a mechanism called an Article 4 Direction, which is a legal rule used by councils, to ensure all future conversions require planning permission.

Councillor Andrew Wooldridge, Portfolio Holder for Leisure, Economic Development and Planning Policy at Kingston Council, said: "We want to make sure that everyone living in Kingston has access to good quality housing and putting in place controls to make sure we review and decide all HMO conversions, whatever their size, is one way in which we could do this.

"It's important to say that shared housing is a valued part of Kingston's housing mix, providing a vital lower-cost accommodation option for residents.

"By introducing these measures, we can ensure we manage the quality, number and location of HMOs, whilst protecting what makes our Royal Borough special."

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The Article 4 Direction is proposed to be 'immediate', which means that it's in place from the date it's 'made', which is set to be in early 2027.

By taking this immediate approach, the council says it is "looking to prevent a surge of unregulated conversions taking place before the controls are live".

The proposal to introduce an Article 4 on HMOs is set to be decided by Place Committee on 18 November 2026. More information on the committee, including how to watch the livestream, is available on the council's website.

If approved at committee, the Direction will be made in early 2027 alongside the launch of a statutory consultation. The Direction, and any changes as a result of consultation responses, will be formally confirmed within six months.

A Tolworth resident is currently facing court for refusing to pay council tax over a 'nightmare' HMO next door to her home.

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